NILES — In preparation for as-of-yet-unrevealed construction project request, Niles Charter Township’s board of trustees voted 5-2 to create a building board of appeals Monday evening at the township hall, 320 Bell Road.

The board concurrently voted to elect the following township residents to the board: Kevin Barker, architect; Phil Howell, electrical contractor; Scott Saunders, general contractor; Steve Seipert, plumbing contractor; and Dan Smothermon, general contractor, mechanical contractor and member of both the planning commission and zoning board of appeals.

The board will soon meet to establish its by-laws and send them to an attorney for proofing. Once approved, the board can act legislatively.

Appeal boards are created to listen to and act on any request to review a law created by local government that impacts the requester. In the case of the township’s new building board of appeals, the appeal must be construction-related.

If someone wishes to appeal, that person must pay a fine, which would in turn be given as compensation to the board members and their recorder.

When the building board of appeals creates its by-laws, it must consider its term limits and whether to stagger them.

This came as a point of disagreement among township trustees Monday. Some thought term limits should be tentatively put in place, while others wanted none to be put in place until the board of appeals created its by-laws.

Another disagreement stemmed from the members of the new board.

“I don’t know anything about them, so for me to say, ‘Yep,’ I would’ve liked to have known some of their background,” said trustee Herschel Hoese.

The lack of knowledge of the board members led Hoese to his “no” vote — trustee Chris Vella was the other.

Supervisor Jim Stover and clerk Terry Eull said they did not know all board members, either.  Stover offered his reasoning for voting “yes.”

“I respect the fact that [building official] Todd [Hetler] told us that this is who he would want on this committee,” Stover said.

The final point of disagreement over the board was whether it was a new board to begin with.

Trustee Richard Cooper, who presented the agenda item, said the township shared a building board of appeals in the past with the city of Niles. Because boards of appeals are rarely used, however, the township members’ term limits ran up and the city filled the township’s open positions.

Regardless of whether the board is new or not, its impact will be the same. Its five members could decide whether a construction project typically hindered by local laws can take place, potentially meaning atypical materials, structure and building methods could be allowed.

Also Monday, the following agenda items were approved unanimously:

• The reappointment of Darlene Clevenger, Gary Conover, Cooper, Joe Bellina and John McNeils to the township’s planning commission for three-year terms.

Bellina’s, Cooper’s and Clevenger’s terms do not expire until Dec. 31, 2020. Conover’s and McNeils’ terms do not expire until Dec. 31, 2021.

• The reappointment of Marge Durm-Hiatt, John VanDyke and Lee Hoffman to the zoning board of appeals for three-year terms.

Hoffman’s term does not expire until December 2020, while Durm-Hiatt’s and VanDyke’s terms do not expire until Dec. 31, 2021.

• A $500 salary increase to Yvonne Waggoner, assistant clerk, for completing an accounting class at Southwestern Michigan College.

• An opt-out of a publicly funded health insurance plan.

Michigan offers a “one-size-fits-all” approach that does not work with many townships, said treasurer Jim Ringler. Many townships, Niles included, offer private insurance, if they can afford to do so, he said.

• An authorization for Ringler to negotiate collecting summer taxes from Brandywine Community Schools, Berrien RESA and Lake Michigan College. The three entities have historically opted into the agreement, Ringler said.